When Finn Comes Marching Home
by JimberlyShipper
Summary: This is set in the 1940s, it is an AU fic. There are several glee pairings, but the main pairing is Finchel. It takes place in 1941, right before the Americans enter World War 2. Finchel, Brittana, Wemma, Klaine, Quick, Tartie, and several more pairings.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: This is my second glee fic. It was inspired by a Finchel fic I was reading on . It's called Smoke In Your Eyes, by monroeslittle. This is set in the 1940s. World War 2 has already started. They have to worry about the boys getting drafted. This has several couples, Finchel, Wemma, Brittana, Klaine, Tartie, and Puck/Quinn. I'm pretty much only a Puck/Quinn shipper bc I don't really like Quinn, and I want Puck to have someone. So here goes. Hope you like it!**_

When Finn Comes Marching Home

By Julia

It was a beautfiul morning in Lima, Ohio. McKinley High School was the only high school. Finn Hudson was the most popular boy in school. Rachel Berry was his steady girlfriend. They all sang together in the glee club. It was 1941, and WW2 had gripped the country. Everyone was wondering when the Americans were going to step in. So far, they hadn't. They were wondering when they would, Rachel was worried about Finn and the other boys in the school (and of course the glee club) getting drafted. None of them were eighteen, but it didn't always matter. Sometimes, they had to take high school boys to help them out. Rachel was terrified of this. Finn wasn't as much. He was glad for the oppurtunity to serve his country. His father had been a solider, too. He had fought in WW1. He had been murdered when Finn was a baby. It was one of the unsolved mysteries of Lima. No one was really sure what had happened.

Finn walked into the school. He was heading to his locker, to put some of his books away and get the ones he needed for first period. He was expecting Rachel, or his best friend, Noah Puckerman, aka Puck, to already be there, waiting for him. He was glad that he had something predictable in his life. His friends could always be counted upon. Sure enough, Rachel was waiting for him when he got to his locker. ''Morning, Rach.'' He said, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

Rachel's long brown hair was curly and she had swept her bangs off her face with a headband. She wore a full pink skirt and a white button up sweater. She was holding her books and a notebook. She'd already been to her locker. She was grinning at him. She said, ''Morning, Finn. I am glad to see you.''

Finn got his books and closed his locker. He started walking down the hall with her, next stop was by Puck's girlfriend Quinn's locker, to see if Puck was there. He slipped his hand into Rachel's as they walked. He said, "So I'm really glad that you sang that song with Quinn yesterday in glee club,"

Rachel and Quinn Fabray had sang _When Johnny Comes Marching Home_ the day before. They had had some troubles before, Quinn had wanted Finn, too, and he had chosen Rachel as his first girlfriend. They had fought quite a bit. They were getting along better now that Puck and Quinn were dating. Rachel smiled at Finn, loving the feel of her hand in his. She had worked so hard to get along with Quinn for Finn. She knew that it was important to him because of Puck. He and Puck were best friends and had been so all of their lives. Rachel said, "It was fun, Finn. I am glad that Quinn and I are getting closer."

When they reached Puck's locker, Puck was indeed there with Quinn. He was just finishing up taking books out of his locker. He closed his locker door. He wore a mohawk, which was not a very popular hairstyle. He was definitely considered by some to be a bad boy, and Quinn actually hadn't told her parents that she was dating him yet, she was afraid how they would take it. They'd been together for about two months or so. Puck nodded as Finn and Rachel walked up. "Hi, guys." He said.

Rachel smiled back at him. She said, "Good morning, Noah. Morning, Quinn." She managed to keep the smile on her face as she said this. "So glad to see you both this morning." She added.

Before either of them could say anything, they were joined by Finn's new step-brother, Kurt Hummel. He was very skinny, and handsome. He had soft brown hair that he wore in the normal style parted on the side and swept off his face. He was wearing dark jeans and a plaid shirt. He was very different from a lot of the boys in the school. He and Finn were very close, but Finn wondered what was so different about him. He just had a way about him, and he had never dated any of the girls in the school. People were beginning to wonder if he was a little odd. Kurt smiled at them, as he opened his locker, which was next to Puck's. "What's going on with everyone this morning?" He asked.

Rachel sometimes got along with Kurt. They fought over solos quite a bit. She smiled at him, not catching the look Quinn was giving her. She said to Kurt, "Not much. We were just talking about the song Quinn and I sang yesterday." She gave Quinn a smile before turning back to Kurt.

Quinn tried to stop herself from staring at Rachel. She should not be doing that. She was completely in love with her. She was only dating Puck because she knew it was wrong to have these feelings for another girl. She was totally not sure what to do about it. She usually had to force herself to not stare at Rachel. She really wished that she could just safely be with Rachel. She knew it would never happen. She caught a glimpse of Santana Lopez down the hall, and her mind flashed back to the night before:

_Quinn was sitting on Santana's bed with her. Santana's parents were out. Santana and Quinn were very nervous about this. Santana had realized something about herself, too. She was totally in love with her best friend Brittany S. Pierce. Brittany was seeing this boy Matt Rutherford. She had no idea how Santana felt. Quinn and Santana had confided in each other about their secret loves. But they had decided to experiment together. _

_Santana ran her hand along Quinn's arm. She was totally wishing Quinn was Brittany. But she was going to have to take what she could get for now, until she could find out what Brittany felt. She very cautiously leaned over and kissed Quinn on the mouth, softly at first, and then slipped her tongue into the blonde's mouth. Quinn slipped her hand into Santana's hair, pulling it out of it's high ponytail. She was totally pretending she was kissing Rachel. _

_Quinn could hardly believe herself as she began unbuttoning Santana's top, pushing it down off Santana's shoulders. She carefully slipped her hand on Santana's breast, hardly believing her daring. Santana gave a soft groan against Quinn's mouth. Quinn pulled back for a second, looking into Santana's eyes. "How far do you want to go with this?" She asked. _

_Santana looked at her. She wanted to take it all the way. If you were going to do something wrong, you might as well take it all the way. Santana answered by unhooking her bra and dropping it on the floor. She took Quinn's hand and put it on her right breast and began kissing her again. She pushed Quinn back on the bed, not sure how to go about this, but she was going to try her best. She pulled Quinn's sweater set off and dropped it to the floor, and unhooked her bra, too. She eased the cups off of Quinn's breasts and leaned down. She pressed kisses on Quinn's breasts, flicking her tongue across Quinn's nipples. Quinn writhed underneath her, muttering Rachel's name. Santana stopped, and sat up. She said, "Excuse me?" _

_Quinn said, "I'm sorry, Santana. I didn't mean it. But, you know that I have feelings for Rachel. You're an amazing friend and all, but you know that I would rather be doing this with her. You'd rather be doing this with Brittany. Why are you getting so upset?" Quinn actually wanted this to happen, so she would know what it was like with a female. _

_Santana got up, and handed Quinn her clothes. "Get out. I know that you would rather be here with that dwarf, but you're here with me. That means the only name you should be muttering __**my**__ name, not Rachel's." She got up and put her clothes back on, and once Quinn had, she kicked her out. _

Quinn was brought back to the present by Puck, who was looking at her funny. She said, "What, Puck?" She tossed her blonde hair back over her shoulder, focusing on him instead of Santana.

Puck said, "You were just staring at Santana Lopez." He caught Finn's eye, and they looked at each other for a moment. He had been wondering about Quinn lately. She hadn't wanted to go to the library parking lot and make out in a couple of weeks. He was confused as to why. She had always been willing before.

Quinn said, "I don't know what I was thinking. I'm sorry." She turned to Rachel. "Come on, let's go to the ladies room before class." She walked away with Rachel, holding onto her books so hard that her knuckles were turning white. She completely didn't know how to act around Rachel now. She knew that Rachel was completely in love with Finn, and she was feeling guilty that she was even having these feelings for her in the first place. She sighed and concentrated on listening to Rachel making conversation about herself. Rachel talked a lot about herself. When she wasn't talking about Finn that is. Quinn sighed as they reached the bathroom. Maybe one day she would have the oppurtunity to speak up. In the meantime, she had ruined any chance she would have to experiment with Santana.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Wiill Schuester was standing in the choir room. He had just gone through a messy divorce with his wife Terri. He had endured a lot of talk about it. He already had some type of feelings for the guidance counselor, Ms. Pillsbury. He had not brought them up to her yet, for fear of rejection. He was afraid that she was not going to return his feelings. Plus, there would be talk. He didn't want to have any more talk going around about him.

Rachel entered the choir room, carrying some sheet music. She was always in here. She lived, breathed, and slept music. She placed the sheet music on the piano and said, "Hello, Mr. Schue." She readjusted her headband and smoothed her skirt. She always came in early to glee class to practice.

Will smiled at her. "Hello, Rachel. How are you today?" He wondered what song she was going to practice. Most of the songs she sang were for Finn. She really loved Finn. Will liked Rachel, but all she could think about was Finn and being famous. It made her annoying to a lot of people. Just most of them were too nice to say anything,

Rachel smiled. "I am fine, Mr. Schue. Finn and I have a date to go to the diner after school today." She straightened up her music. "I am going to practice _Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy _today, Mr. Schue." She said, naming a new song by the Andrews Sisters. She handed the music to the piano player and he began to play.

Will left her and went into the tiny room adjacent to the choir room, which was his office. He sat down to do some paperwork, when he was interrupted by one of the other glee kids, Artie Abrams. He was in a wheelchair. He'd been in an accident when he was eight. He loved being in the club. He loved to sing. Will smiled at him as he wheeled himself through the doorway. "Hi, Artie."

Rachel's song could be heard as Artie said, "I wanted to get your advice about something, Mr. Schuester." He pulled up to Will's desk and put on the breaks on his chair.

Will said, "Sure, Artie, my door is always open to you kids." He leaned back in his chair and put his pen down, so he could fully concentrate on Artie. He wanted Artie to have his full attention.

Artie replied, "Well, there is a song I want to sing for Tina in class. I want her to know how much I love her." He was dating Tina Cohen Chang, one of the only Asian girls in the school.

Before WIll could say anything, the music in the choir room stopped. Then Rachel gave a shriek. Will got up and hurried around his desk, Artie following. Rachel was standing by the piano, covered in egg. David Karofsky, one of the football players, was standing there, laughing at her. Will said, "Mr. Karofsky, I have told you about bothering Rachel." He had had several talks with David about his torture of Rachel.

David gave Will a look of contempt. "I don't care what you say, Mr. Schuester. This girl is a total queer." He dropped two more eggs on Rachel's head and left the choir room before anyone could stop him.

Will walked closer to Rachel. He patted her on the arm. "I can take you to the principal if you would like. You can tell him what happened if you like." He said. He felt bad for her. She was such a nice girl, and a lot of the time, she got picked on like this. Usually just by David, a lot of guys were afraid of Finn. He may have been a nice boy, but he usually didn't tolerate anyone picking on Rachel.

Some of the other kids began to come in, it was almost time for glee class. Quinn and Puck walked in, followed by Santana and Mercedes Jones. Mercedes was one of the few black students in the school. It made life in William McKinley High hard for her sometimes. Quinn instantly went over to Rachel, not being able to help herself. She saw Rachel hurt and had to act. Santana looked at Puck and rolled her eyes. Puck gave her a funny look, he didn't know what she was rolling her eyes for.

Rachel was crying, and she was glad everyone was so concerned about her, but all she wanted was Finn right now. She shook off Will's arm and said, "I am going to go to the bathroom and try to wash this off. No one follow me." She shook off Quinn's arm, too, and left the choir room.

"Mr. Schue, can I go with her anyway? She's going to want Finn, but he can't go into the girls' restroom with her, and I can." Quinn said, trying to avoid looking Santana in the eye. She knew she would get some kind of look from her and she couldn't deal with it right now.

Will nodded, and Quinn left the room to follow Rachel. He wondered how Rachel and Quinn were able to be such good friends after what had happened with Finn. Quinn had been after him just enough to not have a lot of talk going on about her. Then, not long after Rachel and Finn had begun dating, she started dating Noah. He still wasn't sure whether he liked Noah or not. He hadn't acted up in glee yet, but there was a first time for everything. He said, "Well, guys, just go ahead and get seated, while we wait for everyone else to get here."

Rachel was in the bathroom, wiping with cold paper towels, when Quinn found her. She said, "I said for no one to follow me." Her voice was still shaking. She had pulled the head band out of her hair, it was now ruined. It was sitting on the sink. She was trying to use the wet paper towel to pull the egg out of her hair.

"Why didn't you let Mr. Schue take you to the principal's office?" She asked, as she got a paper towel and got it wet, to help Rachel. She couldn't help but be around her. She loved Rachel so much. She couldn't just not be in her life. Quinn was going to have to watch it, she didn't want Rachel to start getting the wrong idea, she knew Rachel was in love with Finn.

Rachel shook her head. "I didn't want to. It will give David more of a reason to pick on me." She said, pulling more egg out of her hair and tossing the paper towel away. She wondered why Quinn was being so nice to her, now that the boys weren't around. She wasn't usually like this unless Noah or Finn was around.

"You should have. Maybe David will learn to stop." Quinn said, as she wiped the last of the egg out of Rachel's hair. She looked at the headband Rachel had set on the sink. "This was so pretty, it's too bad it's ruined." She commented, and tossed it in the trash for her friend. She wasn't sure what else to say now,

"I will just tell Finn about it. Telling the principal won't help anything. It will most likely make it worse." Rachel said. She knew David was afraid of Finn most of the time, he never said anything to Finn that wasn't respectful. She carefully finished wiping off her sweater. She would have to have egg on her sweater the rest of the day. It was too cold to take it off, it was November.

Quinn said, "And your sweater is all messed up. I hope it will come out in the wash." She said, wishing she could help Rachel dab it off without looking as if she was enjoying it. That would so not be possible.

Rachel said, "I'm sure it will, it's just egg." She finally declared herself presentable, and turned to leave the bathroom. She added, "I'm sure you can find your way back." She left the bathroom without saying another word to Quinn.

When she got back to the choir room, Finn was by her side instantly. He took her hand. "I am so glad that you're alright. Santana and Puck told me what happened." He said, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

Rachel smiled at him. "Thanks, Finn, I really appreciate that." She said, and noticed that besides Quinn, all the glee club kids were there. "Now sit down, Finn, I am going to sing you a song." She added, as he kissed her on the cheek one last time and went to join the other kids. Quinn walked in as Rachel was going to stand by the piano, looking upset. She sat down next to Puck as Rachel began to sing _Our Love Is Diifferent_, by Billie Holliday.

_Our love is different dear_

_It's like a mighty symphony_

_I can feel its silver harmony_

_Oh so tenderly, day by day_

_Our love is different dear_

_To me it's almost heavenly_

_Let us guard it ever preciously_

_Even jealously_

_While we may_

_A love like ours dear heart_

_[ Find more Lyrics on __/uUX__ ]_

_The angels send_

_And as I know dear heart_

_That it won't ever end_

_For as the years roll by_

_You'll learn my love for you is true_

_And I'm sure I'll learn_

_the same from you_

_For our love is different dear_

_A love like ours dear heart_

_The angels send_

_And as I know dear heart_

_That is won't ever end_

_For as the years roll by_

_You'll learn my love for you is true_

_And I'm sure I'll learn_

_the same from you_

_For our love is different dear_

When Rachel was finished, Finn ran to her, smiling, and throwing his arms around her, giving her a kiss on the mouth. Quinn watched, her heart sinking, as she tried to rearrange her face in a smile, as Puck gave her a kiss on the cheek, trying to catch her attention.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

That afternoon, Santana had gotten Brittany to agree to come over and study together. Santana and Brittany walked home from school. Santana's parents did not have a car, so she had had to get used to walking everywhere. Her father had to walk, too. They had used to have a car, but her father had been in an accident and it no longer ran. He had chose to sell the parts instead of trying to get it fixed and they were working on saving up to get a new one. She missed when she didn't have to walk everywhere. She supposed it was going to take awhile to get a car again, especially with it being in the Depression. Santana's fingers were itching to grab Brittany's hand as they walked home. She was totally not ashamed of the love she felt for Brittany, even if she had been told for years that she had to pick a man to marry. She wanted Brittany. Santana even took it so far as she wasn't dating anyone. She didn't want to waste her time.

Brittany was wearing her cheerleading uniform, they had just had practice after school. She looked very nice in the shirt, her breasts straining at the material. The skirt flowed nicely. Brittany really just liked to twirl in it. She would twirl before and after practice. Santana just loved to watch her. She thought Brittany was the most adorable girl she had ever seen, and it was getting to the point where she didn't want to hide it. She knew she had to, though, it was too dangerous to just let her feelings show in public. Brittany said, "I didn't like cheerleading practice today, Matt wasn't there to cheer me on because he was at football practice." She pouted.,

Santana rolled her eyes, hoping that Brittany didn't notice her. She didn't want her to think that she didn't like Matt, because she did. She just didn't think he needed to be with Brittany. She said, "I had fun at practice." Santana had changed into jeans and a sweater set after practice. She hadn't wanted to wear her uniform home.

"So I can't believe poor Rachel got egged again today." Brittany said, twirling around in her skirt. She loved it so much, and it made San happy to see her happy. She didn't even care that Brittany wanted to talk about the stupid Berry girl.

Santana turned into her driveway, and Brittany followed. If Santana had wanted, they could have had boys coming home with them, carrying their books for them. She just hadn't wanted to. She held both her books and Brittany's, she had wanted Brittany to be able to twirl her skirt on the way home if she wanted. Santana pulled her key out of her jeans pocket and opened the door. She placed the key on the table by the door and Brittany followed her in. Santana's mother was a maid at one of the hotels downtown, and her father had his own practice downtown. He was a doctor. She closed the door behind Brittany and headed to the kitchen to see what there was for a snack. She was hungry.

Brittany followed her, her blond ponytail bouncing. She sat down at the kitchen table while Santana rooted around in the cupboards. Brittany asked, "What are you doing, San?" She opened her English textbook that Santana had placed on the table.

Santana said, "Looking for a snack, Britt Britt." She finally found a box of Twinkies and pulled them out, and got out the milk from the fridge. She wondered if the milk man was due to come that day. She got out a couple of plates for them to put their Twinkies on and put them on the table and got out some glasses to pour the milk into. "Sorry there's no chocolate chip cookies, Britt Britt, Mom hasn't made any in a couple of days." She said.

"It's OK, Santana." Brittany responded, getting out her spiral notebook and opening it up so that she could do her homework. She asked. "What book are you doing to do your book report on?" She had chosen Little Women, she had always wanted to read it, and this gave her an excuse to do so.

Santana had chosen some Shakespeare play, the teacher had said those were acceptable. She figured it would take her less time to read. Santana didn't like to waste time on homework. She carried the glasses of milk over to the table and set one down in front of Brittany. She sat down next to her at the table, resigned to actually doing her homework for now. She wondered how her parents thought it was a good idea to leave her alone in the afternoons. She and Puckerman had been having sex until he'd begun dating Quinn. Santana hadn't wanted to wait, like most girls and boys did. Puckerman hadn't, either. She had made him use condoms, she wasn't going to get pregnant and then not be able to get out of Lima. She wanted to go anywhere but Lima when she graduated. She replied to Brittany, "I'm doing Macbeth or something, Britt Britt."

Brittany set to work answering the questions at the end of the English chapter they had just finished, and Santana sighed, getting out her own English book and notebook, just wanting to take Brittany to her room and do things to her that she knew would make her a naughty girl.

Meanwhile, Finn and Rachel were at the diner, cheeseburgers, fries, and milkshakes sitting in front of them. Finn was eating, and Rachel was taking small bites inbetween the long conversation she was having. She had sheet music sitting next to her on the booth seat. She was borrowing them to take them home and practice. She was chattering on about some project she had to do for history. Finn was trying to concentrate, but it was hard, there was food in front of him.

Rachel smiled. She knew Finn was only half listening, but that was OK. She loved him, and that was enough, that she knew he was at least trying to pay attention. She broke off as she noticed Quinn and Puck enter the diner. Azimio Adams and David Karofsky entered just behind them. They were friends with Puck, they were on the football team. Finn of course, hated them both, David for his mistreatment of Rachel, and Azimio because he was best friends with Karofsky. Finn waved Puck and Quinn over, missing Rachel's face. She quickly put a smile back on it as Puck and Quinn joined them. "Hello, Noah, Quinn." She said, scooting over to make room for Quinn next to her.

Quinn knew that Puck would pick a fight with her later if she chose to sit next to Finn, but she didn't really want to torture herself and sit next to Rachel. She knew she had no choice, however. She sighed and slid in the booth next to Rachel. She knew that Rachel was going to assume that the sigh was because she didn't like her, and she thought that that was better, It kept her from finding out the truth. She asked Puck, "Is it OK if I just get some fries and a shake? Mom's going to expect that I eat dinner at home. I tried to tell her I was meeting you and Finn and Rachel here, but she didn't seem to care."

Puck shook his head. Quinn's mom killed him sometimes. Plus, she really hated Puck. He really wished that Quinn would tell her mother that they were dating, He could understand why she hadn't, she wouldn't be allowed out of her house, He didn't want a girlfriend who wasn't allowed to leave the house, he'd have to start seeing Santana secretly again. He was pretty proud of himself, no one knew that had been going on. Once he had started seeing Quinn, he'd told Santana they had to cool it, he didn't want things to get complicated. He only had enough time for one chick, not that he cared he was in a relationship. He said, "Whatever, Quinn, it doesn't matter to me."

Finn and Rachel shared a look, hoping that their friends weren't going to have a fight in the middle of the diner. It was something that happened weekly since they had begun dating. Finn wondered why they were even together, he could tell that Quinn wasn't really into Puck. He thought she might just be with him because Finn had chosen Rachel. He felt bad for Puck, he really thought Puck liked Quinn and wanted his friend to be happy.

Quinn tucked blonde hair behind her shoulder, She gave Puck a look. She didn't know why he had to be this way in front of Finn and Rachel. Rachel would start thinking she was not a nice girl or something. She snapped, "You know, we don't even have to eat, I can just go home. I don't need to spend time with you, Puck. I mean, seriously." She avoided looking at Rachel. She didn't want to see her expression right now.

Puck threw up his hands. "Seriously, all you ever do is pick a fight with me in front of Finn and Rachel. They're going to think that is all we do! I am not doing this with you again. Go home, Quinn. Maybe I'll call you later." He was completely serious. He didn't want to see her anymore that day, she was grating on his nerves.

Quinn felt tears fill her eyes, but she got up from the table. She forced herself to not look at Rachel, to see what Rachel was thinking. She knew if what she saw was bad, she would cry even worse. She said, "I just might not answer the phone when you do." She forced herself to look away from Finn and Rachel and left the diner. When she got outside, before going to walk back towards her house, she sat down on the sidewalk and leaned against the wall of the diner, and buried her head on her knees. She could not be more messed up right now, and she was angry that Santana wasn't going to help her. She wasn't sure she was going to make it through this without her.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Kurt was getting up the next morning, hoping that he would beat his brother to the bathroom. He was glad that their parents had married, and that he now had a step-mother and step-brother, but he still was annoyed that he had to share his room and his bathroom with someone else. Especially with Finn. Finn was a great brother and Kurt didn't even mind Rachel being there all the time, but Finn was definitely messy when it came to his bathroom habits. He did, at least, keep his part of the bedroom clean. He headed into his and Finn's bathroom, and delightedly, his brother must still be asleep, because it was empty. He showered, and then got out to start working on his appearance. It was hard to get away with working on his face and hair so much, he knew that his parents paid attention to how much time that he spent in the bathroom, and he knew that it was not normal for boys to do that. Kurt, however, knew he was different. Kurt knew he had feelings for boys, and it was something he had been struggling with. He wasn't sure what he should do about it, but he knew that he wasn't supposed to feel that way, and he knew that he was going to have to keep it to himself for the time being.

When he got out of the bathroom, he headed to his closet to get dressed. Finn was lying in his bed like a log. He wasn't even moving. He pulled out a dress shirt, a tie, and a sweatervest. He pulled some nice slacks out. He preferred to go with the fashion trends of the day, and Finn did somewhat, but he was more casual with it than Kurt was. He quickly dressed and went over to lightly shake Finn awake. "Finn, it's time to get ready for school." He said.

Finn groaned as he stirred. He had gotten to bed a little late last night, Rachel had called to complain to him about a zit she had found on her chin. She had been pretty distraught about it, and he'd had to spend an hour or so trying to calm her down. He completely didn't want to get up and face the day. He didn't want to get up, but he did want to see Rachel. It was a double edged sword. He sighed and slid out of bed. "Thanks, Kurt." He mumbled, as he headed into the bathroom.

A few minutes later, while Finn was in the shower, and Kurt was helping Carole, Finn's mother, prepare breakfast, the phone rang. Kurt wasn't a hundred percent certain, but it was either Rachel or Puck. To his surprise, it was Santana Lopez. He didn't think she had ever called their house before. Kurt said, "Hello, Santana. Is there something Finn or I could do for you?"

Santana wasn't sure what had made her call the Hummel-Hudson residence. She wanted to know if he had noticed anything different about Quinn. She knew Q hadn't said anything about what she and Santana had done, because it would look bad on her, too. But she wanted to know if he had seen her do anything odd lately. She knew she'd never be able to get away with telling him about Q's feelings for Rachel, because Quinn could just speak up about Santana's for Brittany. She was mostly just being nosy. She almost chickened out, but she had come this far. "I just want to talk to Finn for a few minutes. I know he's getting ready for school."

Kurt knew Rachel would not like this. She and Santana did not get along. He wasn't sure why, but the first instinct he had was to tell Santana to just wait and talk to Finn at school, where there were more witnesses that wouldn't just be on Finn's side. He didn't want anything to cause problems with Finn and Rachel, he knew they were really happy together. He had never even seen Finn without Rachel. They had been together for about a year or so. He hadn't paid too much attention to Finn before that. Their parents had been dating for six months or so, and then they had gotten married. That was around the time Finn had begun dating Rachel. Kurt wasn't so sure he liked Santana. She was kind of rough around the edges, and he suspected that she and Noah Puckerman had been together or whatever a few months ago. He knew that Noah and Santana thought no one knew about that, but Kurt observed a lot of things, not many kids spoke to him.

He had been quiet too long, Santana was making noise in his ear. He finally said, "No, Santana, he's in the shower. He is getting ready for school. You can just talk to him there. It wouldn't be right for you to talk to him here anyway, Rachel wouldn't approve and you know it." Kurt ignored her protests and hung up the phone. He wondered what Santana had wanted, anyway.

Later on that morning, Rachel was entering the school, heading towards her locker. Then it was off to Finn's. She really liked having a routine down. She was wearing a navy blue skirt and a matching navy blue sweater set that day, and she had a new red headband in her hair, and she'd worn curlers in her hair the night before. She thought she looked pretty, and hoped that Finn would think so too. She went to her locker. Santana Lopez was there waiting for her. She was very surprised. She did not get along with Santana at all, and never had. She said, "Can I help you, Santana?" She kept her tone casual, but there was a definite bite to it.

Santana was not pleased at what Kurt had done to her. He was going to get it, as soon as she could come up with something that was bad enough to do to him. In the meantime, she wanted to speak to Finn, and while he was his own man, she felt it would be best if she cleared it with Rachel first. She didn't want to deal with screaming midget Rachel later. She tried to limit the contact she had with her as much as possible. She tried to keep the "I really don't want to be doing this" tone out of her voice as she said, "I just wanted to know if was alright with you if I spoke to Finn about something." She was completely hating having to do this. But it was essential. She wanted to know if Finn had noticed anything about Quinn. Santana wanted to gauge her behavior accordingly, it wouldn't do to have anyone guessing about her.

Rachel looked at Santana, really surprised that she was asking first. She wasn't usually this polite. She usually just did whatever the heck she felt like. Rachel opened her locker door and began taking books out of it, and then closed it, and turned back to Santana. Her heart was pounding a little, Santana was a tough girl and always had been. Rachel had always been afraid of making her angry, especially since she knew that Santana didn't like her. She said, "Well, Finn's his own man, I can't tell him that he can't speak to other girls. So I guess it would be alright." She was more or less agreeing so Santana didn't punch her face in.

They heard loud noises coming from down the hall. They both turned to look, unable to ignore it. Kurt had been walking into school with Finn, when Karofsky came out of nowhere and slammed Kurt up against a locker. Finn was pushing Karofsky away, as Rachel and Santana both hurried forward, running into Puck and Quinn on the way. Finn pushed Karofsky up against the wall. "Seriously, what the hell is your problem with my brother?" Finn barked, inches away from Karofsky's face.

Karofsky said, "He's in the damn glee club with all of you queer kids, he's just weird. He bothers me." He didn't shy away from Finn at all, he was the only boy in school who wasn't afraid of Finn, besides maybe Azimio. He didn't care if Finn fought back, he was going to pick on Rachel and Kurt and the rest of the glee kids if he wanted.

Before Finn could do anything else, Will and Emma showed up, they had run into each other in the parking lot, and there was no mistaking the sparks between them. Will was torn away from something Emma had been saying as he noticed the fighting going on. He immediately fought through all the kids and pulled Finn away from Karofsky. "That's enough." He barked, "Finn, I am taking you and David both to the principal's office." He turned to Emma. "Would you come, too, as a witness?" He asked.

Emma nodded. Her red hair was wavy and framed her face. She wore a long black skirt and a white blouse. She followed him down the hall, as the kids dispersed, except Rachel, who stayed to make sure Kurt was OK. She watched as he made Finn walk on one side of the hall, and Karofsky on the other. She mostly just watched Will's hands hanging by his sides. She wanted to take one in her own, she wanted him for her own. She was trying not to chase him, that would not be good for her reputation. But she could tell that he liked her. It hopefully wouldn't be long until something happened there. She was trying to work through some of her issues with germs, she thought that would be essential to something happening later on down the line. She wanted to say something to him, and wasn't sure what, but the oppurtunity was taken away as they reached the principal's door.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

It was lunchtime. Santana walked into the cafeteria, looking for Brittany. She didn't see her, she must not have gotten there yet. She saw Finn and Kurt sitting at a table together, and wondered where Rachel was. She was going to head to Finn's table to ask him about Q when she saw Quinn and Puck entering the cafeteria. She saw them and decided she was going to do what Santana does best, have some fun. She couldn't out Q, but she could toy with her like a lion toys with its food before it eats it. She headed over, and said, "Hey, Q, did you see what Rachel was wearing today?"

Quinn set her best back off Santana glare on her, and said, "No, Santana, I didn't. Should I have? I haven't seen her all day." She avoided looking at Puck.

Santana noticed the avoidance of looking at Puck, and decided to make light of it. She turned to Puck. "Did _you_ see what Rachel was wearing today?" She asked, giving him her best "you know you miss this" look. She completely didn't want Puck, but if Quinn had him, she would take him, just to prove that she could.

Quinn saw the look. She was about to lose Puck. She knew that look. That was Santana didn't want Puck but she was going to take him anyway. She had to stop this from happening, she just didn't know what to do about it. She was totally losing Puck, she didn't want to do anything that she knew that he wanted her to do. She just wasn't sure she could force herself to do it. She bucked herself up. She was just going to have to do this. She hooked her arm through Puck's. She was going to defend her territory. She said, "No, Puck did not see what Rachel was wearing, he's my boyfriend, not hers." She said, stressing the my.

Santana mused to herself, smiling. So, Q was going to fight for Puck, huh? Hmm, well, she could do this. She kept the smile on her face as she said, "Hey, you guys mind if I join you for lunch? I can't find Brittany, and she'll probably want to eat with Matt anyway." She was giving herself an oppurtunity to mess with Puck at the lunch table. She could do this in her sleep.

Puck didn't care, they were going to sit with Finn, Rachel, and Kurt. He knew Santana would hate that, but they had already agreed to it. She'd just have to deal. He said, "We're eating with Finn and Rachel and Kurt." He started towards the lunch line, figuring both girls would follow.

Santana walked close to Quinn, grabbing ahold of her arm, and holding on good. She dug her nails into Quinn's arm, and Quinn was glad she had worn a long sleeve sweater that day. Santana lowered her voice as they walked along, but kept a smile on her face. She said, "I just wanted to remind you, that I own you. I will tell everyone about you. You can't prove anything about me. Not to mention, you've started a lot of rumors in the last year about half the people in this school, so I really doubt that anyone will believe you. I wants Puck. I will have him if I wants. You will do nothing about it, as long as you don't want it coming out that you have a hard on for Berry." She left her nails linger in Quinn's arm a little longer, and then let go, to join Puck.

Quinn rubbed her arm where Santana had grabbed it, and tears had filled her eyes, She completely hated the situation she was in. She was regretting letting Santana in on anything. She should have thought about it before she said anything. She had known Santana a long time, she knew how the girl was. She liked to do complete about faces and do something you never thought that she would. Now Quinn was about to lose Puck, and that couldn;t happen. She had had to have a boyfriend, so that no one would know about her.

Finn and Kurt had seen the entire exchange with Puck, Quinn, and Santana. Finn was wondering what it was about, but he was mainly wondering where Rachel was. She was supposed to eat lunch with them. He had gotten detention after school for a week, His parents were going to kill him, he just hoped that they'd be proud of him for sticking up for Kurt. He hadn't wanted Karofsky to bother him. He already hated the guy for what he did to his girlfriend. He smiled as he saw Rachel leave the lunch line and join them at the table. "Hi, sweetie, glad you are joining us." He said, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

Kurt was wondering what the thing with Santana, Puck, and Quinn had been. He hadn't thought that Puck and Santana were even doing anything together anymore. He'd figured Puck was being true to Quinn, he hadn't seen Puck walking around the school with any girl but Quinn. He had thought Santana was done with boys for awhile, she hadn't been dating anyone. But maybe she wanted Puck back. It was all very interesting. That's when he spotted the most beautiful boy he had ever seen in his life. He could hardly breathe. He had never seen a boy like this at this school, he must be new. Kurt nudged his brother. "Hey, Finn, you know who that boy is?" He asked.

Finn looked where his brother was looking. The boy was tallish, dark brown hair that had a little wave in it, parted to the side. He wore something pretty similar to Kurt. He was looking a little lost. Finn thought he must be a new student. He shook his head. "No, Kurt, I've got no idea who that kid is."

Rachel spoke up as Santana, Quinn, and Puck joined them. She knew who it was. "It's Blaine Anderson, he's a new student. He was in my English class this morning." She said, stealing one of Finn's fries, and looking oddly at Santana, as she sat down on the other side of Kurt, and pulled Puck into the seat next to her.

Quinn sat down next to Rachel, placing her tray with the fries and hamburger and Coke on it in front of her. She tucked her blonde hair behind one ear, wondering what she was going to say. She didn't want anyone to know what Santana was doing. She didn't want them to know that Santana was blackmailing her, and she certainly didn't want them to ask any questions about why Santana was looking so chummy with Puck. She just kept her head down and started eating her lunch. She was going to have to start looking for a new boyfriend. No one must find out about her.

Brittany entered the cafeteria with Matt Rutherford. He was her boyfriend. He just happened to be black, and it had caused quite a scandal when they had first started dating, and actually, Brittany no longer had any of her popular status left standing, cheerleader or not. And it didn't matter that Matt was on the football team. She noticed Santana sitting with some of the other kids in glee, And she wondered if Santana was getting back together with Noah. She knew that something had happened between them, they had spent a lot of time together a few months ago. She wasn't sure how she liked this development. She had started to really like spending time with Santana. She and Santana had always been best friends, but now Brittany was wondering what it would be like to kiss Santana. She knew that that was supposed to be wrong, but she didn't see how it could be any more wrong than being with Matt. She wondered what she should do about it. But Santana possibly stealing Noah away from Quinn was not acceptable. Brittany was going to have to do something about this. She just wasn't sure what.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

The end of the school day rapidly approached for Quinn Fabray. Santana had informed her that since Puck was now hers, he would be escorting her home, not Quinn. Quinn was growing panicky. She knew this was about to blow up, and she didn't know what to do. She had to stop Santana, and she knew that she couldn't. Santana was going to eviserate her. She finished up at her locker, and turned to Puck, whom had just walked up. "Hi, Puck." She said, looking around nervously for Santana. She knew that she wouldn't be far behind.

Puck said, "Hi, baby, you ready to go?" He held out his arms for her books, looking at her expectantly.

Quinn shook her head. "Um, no, there's something I have to tell you." She knew that she was going to have to break up with him, because Puck would never break up with her, he loved her. She wasn't even sure how Santana was going to keep him once Quinn broke up with him, Puck was going to be so confused. She looked into his expectant face, feeling bad. She said, "So, I am breaking up with you now." She willed the tears to stay away, she didn't want to start crying while she was doing this, she would never get through it and Puck would never believe it.

Puck dropped his arms, and adjusted his bookbag. He could hardly believe that she was saying this. "Are you serious, Q? Tell me you're not serious!" He was indignant. Without Quinn he'd most likely go back to doing girls like Santana and he didn't want to do that. He wanted to be in a relationship. It got him in less trouble.

Before Quinn could say anything else, Santana came waltzing up, holding her books. She held them out to Puck. "Come, Puckerman, you are walking me home." She said, setting an evil smile on Quinn. It faded for a split second as she saw Brittany down the hall with Matt, and then she forced herself to look away.

Puck looked at Santana. They were starting to gather a crowd. Things like this didn't happen at McKinley often. He said, "Wait, am I supposed to be with you, now, Santana?" He asked, looking from her to Quinn and to Santana again.

Santana sighed. Damn. Puck wasn't supposed to figure things out. She folded her arms. She said, "Yes. You are, now take my damn books, Puckerman." Her voice rose a little. This had to work, it might make Brittany jealous. That was a plus side to this, Lord knows she didn't care about Puckerman. He'd just been a good fuck last year, and that was all. She wanted Brittany.

Puck looked to Quinn, ignoring Santana. "Quinn, do you want to break up with me? Or are you doing this because Santana decided she wanted to have you? If you really do want to break up with me, I will walk Santana home, and we will never have this talk again." His eyes did not leave her face.

Quinn pinched herself. She was trying to give herself something to think about so she didn't cry. "Yes, Puck, I do. I'm sorry. I, I like someone else." She found this easy to admit, it was true. She just wasn't sure what she was going to say if he asked who it was, she couldn't say Rachel.

Puck surprised her. "Fine, whatever. I am not going to make you stay with me if you don't want to." He took Santana's books, and walked away, Quinn staring after him, tears falling down her face.

Finn and Rachel had not seen this, they were over at FInn's locker, he was putting his books away. He finished and closed up his locker. He had kept the books he needed in his backpack. He took Rachel's hand. He was going to walk her home today. They were going to spend some time together. He had asked her if she'd wanted to come over to his house as usual, and she'd told him she wanted him to come to her house. She said that she wanted some alone time with him. Her father worked, he wouldn't be home.

Rachel smiled to herself as they left the school. Finn had already told Kurt not to wait for him, to go ahead and head on home. He hoped that Karofsky would leave him alone on the way. Rachel squeezed Finn's hand in hers. She was so glad that they were together. She was surprised that she had been the one to get Finn, she had always thought that he would choose Quinn, because she was more classically beautiful, in Rachel's opinion. She was glad that he had picked her, and that he was still with her today. She was glad that he loved her and that he thought she was beautiful. She was also glad that they were going to be spending this time together. She said, "Thanks for agreeing to come over and spend this time with me."

Finn gave her a kiss. "Of course, Rachel. You're my girlfriend, and I love you." He squeezed her hand some more, as they walked off down the street. He was so happy with Rachel. He wished that others could be as happy as they were. He knew Puck and Quinn were having problems, and it upset him. He held Rachel's hand tighter. He wished that Puck and Quinn could just work everything out. Then there was that whole mess with Santana. He wasn't sure what that was, but he was starting to think that maybe Santana was with Puck now, and he could have sworn that that was over. He knew Puck didn't think that anyone knew about that, but Finn did. He had totally observed how Santana and Puck had acted around each other last year. It had been odd. He figured they'd have to wait and see what else happened.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Later that evening, Santana was kicking Puck out of her house. They had fooled around a bit, but she hadn't let him go all the way. She didn't really want to, and she wanted to leave him wanting more. That was how Santana Lopez liked to do things. She was alone, both of her parents had gone out. They had some dinner party or something to go to. She went back to the living room. She turned on the radio. She tuned it to some music, there weren't any good radio programs right now that she wanted to hear. She was thinking about Brittany, and how she could get her to go out with her. She was thinking it was going to be hard. She had to figure out how she could bring it up safely. She was surprised when her phone rang. She got up to get it, wondering who it could be. It was Quinn. Santana smiled to herself. She was going to have fun with this. She said, "Hi, Fabray, what do you want? I just sent Puck home a few minutes ago. Is that what you were calling to talk to me about?" She asked, laughing.

Quinn wanted to confront Santana about taking Puck away from her. She didn't think it was fair, and someone had to stand up to her. She said, "Santana, I want you to break up with Puck, or I'm calling Brittany and telling her that you want her for yourself. I've decided it doesn't matter if you tell Rachel I'm in love with her, because she won't believe you. Rachel and I are actually friends now, and she would never believe anything that you would tell her. Break up with Puck, I want him back." Quinn actually did like Puck, she thought he was a nice guy. She hadn't wanted to hurt him. She was angry that Santana had made her hurt him.

Santana wasn't sure how she could get herself out of this one. She guessed she didn't really mind, Puckerman was actually a good friend, and she didn't want to hurt him. She hated to lose, but she had felt bad. He had spent the time they hadn't been fooling around talking about Quinn, and although it had pissed her off, she knew it was because he had feelings for her. She cared about him and she figured that she could let Quinn have him back, only so that he would be happy, not because she cared what Quinn wanted. She said, "Sure, whatever, Fabray, I was done with him anyway. He kept talking about you, and it wasn't very attractive." She used her best Santana Lopez in charge voice.

Quinn was actually relieved. She didn't want to tell Brittany about Santana. She didn't want to be that mean. That was a Santana thing to do. She was surprised that she had gotten her way that quickly. "Well, good. I guess that's all we need to talk about then." She said, very confused. She should have not gotten what she wanted so quickly. She guessed she shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. She told Santana goodbye and hung up the phone.

Meanwhile, at the Berry house, Rachel and Finn were doing some singing for glee club. They were practicing. Rachel had borrowed some of the sheet music and taken it home, they had an assembly coming up in which they had a couple songs they were going to sing together. _My Funny Valentine_, and _I Wish I Were In Love Again_. They had turned them into duets, so that they could both sing some of the verses. Mr. Schue had worked with them on it, and they were supposed to practice as much as possible. Finn didn't really like either song, but he loved to hear Rachel sing. She had a golden voice and it was something that had made him fall in love with her. They were singing _My Funny Valentine_.

_My funny Valentine, sweet comic Valentine_

_You make me smile with my heart_

_Your looks are laughable, unphotographable_

_Yet, you're my favorite work of art_

_Is your figure less than Greek?_

_Is your mouth a little weak?_

_When you open it to speak_

_Are you smart?_

_But don't change your hair for me_

_Not if you care for me_

_Stay little Valentine, stay!_

_Each day is Valentines day_

_Is your figure less than Greek?_

_Is your mouth a little weak?_

_When you open it to speak_

_Are you smart?_

_But don't change your hair for me_

_Not if you care for me_

_Stay little Valentine, stay!_

_Each day is Valentines day_

Rachel finished singing the song, and she gave Finn a smile. She pressed a kiss to his lips. "You were supposed to sing with me, sweetie." She said, as she stood next to the piano. Finn had been playing the piano while she'd been singing. When he hadn't jumped in, she'd kept going. She guessed it didn't really shock her too much, she knew that he loved hearing her sing. There was a knock on the door before she could say anything else, and she was surprised. It was seven o'clock, and she hadn't expected anyone to be coming over. Her father wouldn't get home for another hour or so. She went to get it. Finn turned around on the piano bench to see. It was Puck. "Hi, Noah, come on in." She said, stepping back to let him in the house.

Puck came in, and Rachel shut the door. He gave her a defeated smile. "Hi, Ray Ray. Finn." He said, spotting his friend. He sat down on the couch. "Quinn broke up with me. I don't want to go with Santana. I mean, she's my friend, and all, but I don't love her. I love Quinn. Do you know what she was thinking, Rachel? I mean, did she say something to you? Did you have any idea what was going on in her head?" He asked, looking very upset. He may have been fooling around with Lopez, but he hadn't really wanted to. He wasn't even sure why he had done it. He was glad that she hadn't let him do anything else.

Rachel wished that she could tell Noah that she had known, make him feel better, but she hadn't. "No, I'm sorry, Noah, she didn't say anything to me about it at all. I wish she had, I would have tried to talk her out of it. Maybe you can get her back. When did this happen?" She asked, as she sat down on the couch next to him. She felt bad for him, she knew how much Puck loved Quinn. He'd been so happy when she had agreed to be his girlfriend.

Puck said, "When I went to get her at her locker to walk her home from school. It was just awful. She started crying, and she told me she was breaking up with me, and then Santana happened to come along. She was holding out her books for me to carry home for her. I was supposed to start dating her. Quinn wouldn't tell me that she wanted to be with me, she told me that she liked someone else. Since when does she like someone else? It took me forever to get her to say that she would go steady with me, how could she just up and like somebody else?" He asked.

His friends shared a glance before Rachel turned back to him. "I don't think she has any feelings for Finn anymore. So I don't know. Maybe she just wanted to spare your feelings." She said, wishing Quinn had confided in her. She had thought they were getting closer, but maybe they really weren't. She also wondered why Santana had thought she was going to be going with Puck all of a sudden, too. Rachel said, "I wonder why Santana thought she was going to be going with you. It's very odd that Quinn breaks up with you the same day Santana decides you're worth dating. She hasn't been with anyone in a long time."

Finn shook his head and laughed a little. He loved Rachel very much, but she didn't know about the Pucktana relationship as far as he knew. She was always too into what she and Finn were doing to notice much about anyone else. It made sense that she wouldn't have seen the way they'd been acting when they were sleeping together. He said, "Yeah, maybe Santana has something on Quinn, and made her break up with you." He didn't know what Quinn could be hiding, but it was definitely a possibility. It was totally like Santana to do something like that.

Puck shrugged. "I don't know. I guess the best thing would be to try and call her, or talk to her at school tomorrow. I don't want to lose her. I'm going to break up with Santana, I didn't even want to be with her anyway." He stopped himself talking before he let anything else out, he didn't want to reveal what had been going on between him and Santana last year.

Rachel touched his arm. She said, "I'm sure it's all a misunderstanding. Just talk to Quinn, maybe you can work it out." She hoped they would, she hated to see Puck so upset about a girl like this. She had to admit to herself that she still didn't completely trust single Quinn as it was, she still wasn't completely convinced that Quinn didn't have a thing for Finn still. She wished that she could know for sure. She didn't think Quinn would tell her if she asked. It couldn't hurt to try. Tomorrow at school was going to be an interesting day.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

The next morning, Rachel headed into the school. She was going to wait to meet up with Finn until she had talked to Quinn. She wanted to know what was going on with the blonde cheerleader. She headed to her locker, deposited things, took some things out she needed, and headed to Quinn's locker. Quinn was looking to be in a good mood, she was whistling a song as she opened her locker. Rachel walked up, and said, "Hello, Quinn, can we talk for a second?" She hoped that Quinn would tell her something that she could use to sooth Noah, he had been so upset. He'd stayed and sung with them for a little while before he'd left to go home, since it had been getting late. Rachel's father had come home, and insisted that Finn head home, too, although he liked the boy. He thought he'd been good to Rachel.

Quinn turned her gaze to Rachel, and gave her a smile. "Hi, Rachel." She said, and then turned back to her locker. "You can talk to me about anything you want." She added, as she took books out and exchanged them.

Rachel clutched her own books to her chest. "Did you break up with Noah? Because he came to my house yesterday to talk to me and Finn. He said that you broke up with him, and he was supposed to be going steady with Santana. He said that he didn't want to. He loves you. I thought you loved him, too." Rachel said, giving her friend a confused look.

Quinn took a deep breath and turned around to face Rachel. She closed her locker as she did so. "I don't know if I was exactly in love with him, but I like him a lot, and I didn't want to hurt him. It was out of my hands. But now, I can talk to him, apologize, and we can get back together. Thanks for looking out for him, though, Rachel, I appreciate that you're such a good friend." She knew that Rachel wasn't trying to attack her.

Rachel smiled. "Good, I hope it works, he was really upset yesterday." She said, "Let's go get Finn, and then you can talk to Noah." She started down the hallway, Quinn following. She hoped that things were going to be better for them now. She was glad that Quinn was going to get back together with Noah, she liked them together. She and Noah had been friends since they were very young, and she wanted him to be happy. He was like a brother to her, they were both Jewish, and went to the same church.

Finn was at his locker with Puck when they approached. He turned as they came up and gave Rachel a kiss. "Hey, sweetheart, how are you?" He said, and there was a moment of silence. Quinn and Puck were looking at each other nervously. Finn took Rachel's hand, "Come on, let's go down the hall a little so they could talk." He squeezed her hand tightly and took her books for her with his other arm.

Quinn and Puck looked at each other, not sure who should talk first. Quinn finally ventured, "I'm sorry that I broke up with you. It was not my choice. But it's OK, because if you want to get back together, we can." She was surprised to find herself itching to take Puck's hand. She didn't know where that was coming from. Maybe she really did like him. She hoped that he would forgive her, she felt really bad for hurting him like she did. She hoped that Santana would just leave them alone now.

He was glad that she was saying these words to him. He just wasn't sure what he was going to say back to her. He wanted to get back together with her very much, he loved Quinn. He said, "How do I know you won't leave me again? I want to believe you, I love you. Even though things were so rocky with us, I do want to be with you, and I want to work things out. But how do I know that you won't just break up with me for no reason again?" He wished that he could just believe her, but he was skeptical.

Quinn lowered her head. She took a deep breath and then looked back up at him. She said, "I'm sorry, I really am. I promise, I won't leave you again. But I don't blame you if I have to earn your trust back." She took a deep shaky breath, and with her free hand fiddled with the bottom of her sweater. She was wearing a blue sweater and a straight knee-length white skirt. She was so hoping that he would give her another chance. She knew that she couldn't be with Rachel, and Puck was nice to her. She had treated him horribly, she needed to atone for that.

Puck didn't see any reason to not give her another chance, especially since they may have fought all the time, they hadn't ever broken up. He smiled and kissed her on the lips, lightly, and then he took her books for her. He said, "I'm so glad you want to get back together, babe." He led her to join Finn and Rachel, pleased as punch. "Guess who's back together." He said, giving them both a smile.

Down the hall, Santana was just joining Brittany at her locker. She grinned at her friend. "Hi, Britt Britt." She said. She was wearing jeans and a green sweater. Most girls would not dare to wear jeans to school, but Santana did not like to follow rules if she didn't have to. She usually got away with it, only if because the school was afraid of her father, who had come down to fight for her before. Her father was of the mind whatever Santana wanted to wear, as long as it was decent, mind you, was just fine. She said, "How was your date with Matt last night?" She was wondering how things were going with Matt.

Brittany smiled at Santana and closed her locker. She was wearing a knee-length full skirt that was pink, with a red short sleeve shirt and a matching sweater. She was wearing saddle shoes and tights to help keep her legs warm. She smiled happily. "It was fun, we went to a movie, and Matt took me to the diner for a burger and fries." Brittany and Matt were happy, but Brittany was starting to wonder what it would be like to be with Santana. She loved her best friend, and lately she'd been having dreams about being with her. It hadn't worried her like it should have, Brittany didn't think it was any different than dating a black boy.

Her best friend smiled back at her. Santana was disappointed that Brittany had had a good time, but she was also glad that Brittany was so happy. She leaned against the locker next to Brittany's. "You gonna eat lunch with me today? Matt can join us, I guess." She said, shrugging. Santana had nothing against Matt, she just wanted his girlfriend.

Before Brittany could reply, Santana noticed the new boy, Blaine Anderson, fighting with his locker. The lock must have been giving him trouble. Santana said, "Britt Britt, look, the new guy's having trouble." She knew Brittany was going to suggest helping him. Brittany was just nice like that. It was one of the reasons that Santana loved her.

Brittany did not disappoint. "OK, let's go help him, 'Tana." She said, as she bounced to help Blaine. She smiled at him as she approached, Santana sighing and following. "Hi, I'm Brittany S. Pierce, and this is Santana Lopez. Are you new here?" She asked, as she took the paper Blaine had written his combination on and deftly spun the numbers and opened up his locker.

Blaine looked at her in shock, but smiled. "Yeah, I'm Blaine Anderson. Nice to meet you." He gave Santana a smile, too, and she managed a half one. He was wearing nice slacks and a black sweater. He had combed his hair and it was swept off his face to the right. Santana had to admit to herself, he was really cute. She wondered if he could sing. They always needed kids for glee club. He said, "Thanks, Brittany, I was totally having trouble with that."

Kurt was watching this exchange from across the hall, his heart pounding. He had the hugest crush of his life on Blaine Anderson. He didn't know what to do about it. He hadn't even had the nerve to approach him and ask if they could be friends. He was too nervous. Blaine was so beautiful. Kurt had never seen a more beautiful boy in his life. He had closed his locker, and barely looked up as his brother and his friends joined him. He tried to look away, he knew he shouldn't be staring at Blaine. Most of the school already thought he was weird enough, and Karofsky would really pick on him if he thought Kurt liked Blaine. He gave his brother a half smile as he sighed, holding his books to his chest. He wished that he could find a girl to like. His life would be so much easier. But nope. Kurt Hummel had to like boys.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

The next morning was Saturday. Finn, Rachel, and Kurt were sitting in the Hummel/Hudson living room, listening to the radio. The news reports were getting bad. The fighting overseas was getting worse. Rachel was getting even more worried that Finn or Noah or some of their other friends were going to get drafted. She was sitting on Finn's lap, glad that his arms were wrapped tightly around her. She shared a look with Kurt. She could tell that he was worried about the same thing she was worried about. Rachel ran her hands along Finn's arms. "I'm worried you'll get drafted, Finn." She said, shivering a little, she wasn't cold, but scared.

Finn kissed her forehead. "It's OK, Rachel. I know you don't want to hear this, but I won't be scared if that happens. I want to fight for my country, like my father did." He knew it would be a bad idea to just join during war times when he hadn't graduated school, but if he was drafted, he would certainly go and fight. Finn longed to be a hero like his father. He didn't think he'd ever be the man his father was, but he didn't remember his father, so he couldn't really say for sure.

His brother looked at him incredulously. Finn had not shared this information with him. Kurt did not want his brother to go overseas. He loved him and didn't want to lose him that way. Kurt said, "Seriously, Finn, you want to be drafted? The US hasn't even joined the war, and unless we get attacked, we most likely will not. Why would you want to go and join a fight like that?" Kurt was not as brave as his brother, he had no intention of joining the war unless he was drafted, and even then, he'd do what he could to get out of it.

Finn nodded, as Rachel got up off his lap in a huff and went into the kitchen. Well, he was going to have to diffuse that in a second. He wished that he could give Kurt the answer he wanted to hear, but he couldn't. "I'm sorry, Kurt, I know it's not what you want to hear, either, but yeah, I do. My father fought for the US in the first World War, and I just want to do the same. But it's mostly moot, unless we get attacked, like you said. Now if you'll pardon me, I have to go and talk to Rachel, I think I upset her." Finn got up and headed into the kitchen. Rachel was standing by the sink, and Finn could hear her sniffling. "Sweetheart, I am sorry that you're scared." He said, as he got up to her and put his arms around her.

Rachel turned to face him, as his arms tightened. She did have a few tears travelling down her face. "Finn, I am really worried about this, and you talking about going if they call you scares me a lot. I love you, and I think one day we're going to get married and have children. I love doing glee club, and I want to be an actress, but I do want to get married to you and have your children. If..." She broke off for a moment, as more tears filled her eyes. "I don't want to lose you to war." Her voice was shaking.

Her boyfriend kissed her forehead, hugging her close. He understood her fear. He just couldn't do anything about it. He wasn't going to change his mind just because she didn't want him to go. He held her close until she stopped crying. He thought they were going to have to table the discussion for a later date.

Meanwhile, Brittany was arriving at Santana's. She had walked, she didn't live far. She knocked on the door briefly and then stepped inside. Brittany had an open invitation to Santana's, even when her parents were home. They liked Brittany a lot and they had told Santana she could come over whenever she wanted, as long as it was a reasonable time. Unless of course, she was already spending the night. Santana was in the kitchen when she arrived, a plate of chocolate chip cookies and milk on the table in front of her. Brittany walked up, giving her a smile. "Hi, 'Tana." She said, as she joined her at the table.

Santana gave her a smile back, noting how hot Brittany looked in her jean skirt and sweater set. She was wearing knit slacks and a long sleeved tee. She hadn't really felt like dressing up for just staying in. She had the radio on, they were going to be playing Guiding Light soon, and she loved that soap. She couldn't wait to hear what was going to be happening. She pulled out the Criss-Crosswords game that her parents had just gotten the other day. It was new, you were supposed to make words across the board, kind of like a crossword puzzle. Santana usually kept a dictonary close for when she and Brittany played. Brittany was always asking what words spelled. "Hey, Britt Britt." Santana said, as she opened up the game.

Brittany clapped her hands happily. She loved playing this game with Santana. She was planning on kicking her butt today. Brittany took a cookie, and then a sip of Santana's milk, with a playful smile on her face, as if she was daring Santana to say anything. She said, "I am going to kick your butt at this game, too, Santana." She was determined to flirt a little with Santana today, see what happened with it. She would do all she had to do.

Blaine Anderson was walking up the Hummel/Hudson walk with his parents, Debbie and David, and he wasn't sure why he was here. He didn't think he needed their help getting new friends. He understood that his father had met Mr. Hummel when he went into his car shop and had him work on his car. He knew that they were just trying to help, though, and he couldn't really be angry. Mrs. Hummel opened the door, and ushered them in. Blaine found himself staring at Kurt Hummel. He hadn't noticed him at school, he was sorry now. Kurt was so cute. Adorable, even. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do about it, he wasn't supposed to like boys. He just wished he could do something.

Kurt could not believe that Blaine was in his house. He was wearing a pair of jeans, saddle shoes, and a blue long sleeved tee. Kurt was beside himself with glee. He wanted to suggest that they go to his room, but he didn't know how. He caught his brother giving him an odd look, and the Andersons drifted into the kitchen with his stepmother, who was getting lunch put on the table. Kurt was watching Blaine, who was sitting on the armchair next to the couch, looking very shy. "Hi, Blaine, I'm Kurt." He said, giving Blaine his best smile.

Finn shared a look with Rachel, and then turned back to look at Kurt and Blaine. He was sensing something between them, and he wasn't sure how he felt about that. It was going to have to be something to think about, and he wondered if maybe this was why Kurt had always seemed a little off.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Thanksgiving dawned on the fourth Thursday as usual, and Carole was up early to start cooking. The Berrys were coming over to eat with them. Rachel and her father. They'd invited the Puckermans, as usual, but they were going to stay at their house this year. They were getting together with the Fabrays, it was out about Quinn and Puck dating. It had not been pleasant, but at least it was seeming to be dealt with civially.

Kurt had been obsessing about Blaine since he'd come over to their house with his parents. He really liked Blaine. He was a sweet kid. Not to mention, incredibly adorable and sexy. Kurt had no idea how sex was supposed to work with another male, but he knew he wanted it. Kurt just didn't know how he was supposed to get it, he didn't know how he was supposed to mention it to Blaine without him getting scared. Kurt knew it was scary. He just wanted to find some way to tell Blaine so they could be together.

He went down to the kitchen, where Carole was starting to work on the turkey. Kurt went to grab an apron. He was already dressed, nice shirt, and nice slacks. He tied the apron on him. "I came down to help you fix the meal, Carole." He said, as he got out some potatoes to start peeling them.

Carole nodded. "Is your brother up yet?" She asked, as she worked on getting the turkey ready. She was basting it, the oven was already preheating.

"I don't know. Do you want me to check? And where's Dad?" Kurt asked, as he got out the potato peeler. He set to work. They always had mashed potatoes with the turkey, and gravy, green beans, stuffing, and yams. And bread, of course. Carole had already made the bread the day before, so all they'd have to do was put it on the table.

Before Carole could answer, Finn came down to the kitchen too. He was already dressed. "Morning, Mom, Kurt." He said, as the phone rang. "I'll get it, it's probably Rachel." He said, and grabbed up the receiver. "Hello, Hudson-Hummel residence." It was just in case it wasn't Rachel. He had a feeling it was, however.

It was in fact, Rachel. She was calling to see if they wanted her or her father to bring anything to the dinner. She also loved talking to Finn early in the morning. It always made her feel like the day was going to be a good one. She said, "Hello, Finn, it's Rachel. Daddy wanted me to call and make sure that you don't want us to bring anything."

He smiled as he was validated, and it was his girlfriend calling. "Hello, baby. Let me ask Mom, you know I don't know what she needs and doesn't need for supper." He said, as he turned and looked at his mother. "Mom, Rachel wants to know if you want her or Mr. Berry to bring anything?"

Carole said, "Only if they want, we have all the bases of the meal covered." She put the turkey in the oven and got to work on the gravy, she liked to make it from scratch, it always tasted better that way.

Finn turned back to his conversation with Rachel as his stepfather came into the kitchen, too, and went to get himself some coffee. Finn said, "Are you and your father ready to come and eat with us?" He asked, as he ran his hand through his hair. He wondered how Puck was going to get through Thanksgiving dinner with Quinn's family, that should be interesting.

"Yes, we are. Do you think Quinn and Puck will be okay today?" Rachel knew that it was bound to be awkward, it had been since the news had come out. Quinn had been grounded for awhile, but she hadn't been forbidden out right to see Puck. That was a good sign, at least, in Rachel's eyes.

He stretched the cord to the fridge, so he could get some milk. He grabbed an apple too, there was no breakfast this morning, Carole was busy working on the dinner. He ferociously bit into the apple as he talked to Rachel and drank out of the milk bottle, which he wasn't supposed to do. He said, "I don't know, but I hope so. I mean, after Santana broke them up and all." He said, Finn wasn't sure how he would have handled it. Puck was definitely happy with Quinn, though, he knew it.

Carole scolded him about the milk, and he put it back. She said, "Finn, the Andersons are coming too, this year, they might be trying to call, so keep your conversation short, okay?" She said, as she put the gravy pan on the stove.

Rolling his eyes, Finn told Rachel he would have to go for now, but they could talk later. It was okay anyway, Carole needed more eggs and he was going to have to go and get some for her. Kurt's ears had perked up when Carole had said that Blaine was coming to dinner too. "So, Carole, why are the Andersons coming?" He asked, as he kept peeling potatoes.

"I was talking to Mrs. Anderson and she mentioned that she and Mr. Anderson were not sure what plans they had this year since they were new to Lima. We're the only people they really knew here so I asked them to come and join us." Carole looked at Kurt. "Are you and Blaine friends at school?" She wondered why he seemed so interested.

Kurt replied, "I guess so." He figured he would call them friends. He didn't know if Blaine would say the same, but he definitely considered them friends. "And I hope if we aren't now we will be by the end of the day." He felt good, that was actually the truth, and not a lie. He did hope they ended up friends, at the very least. It would make things easier.

Meanwhile, Santana was helping her own mother cook. They had a maid, but they had let her have the day off. She also prepared meals for them. Santana's mother did know how to cook though. Santana didn't want to be helping, she wanted to go and see how Brittany was. Brittany and her parents were coming over to join them. Santana was all nervous now that she knew she had feelings for Brittany. Her mother was always on her about dating, and Santana didn't want to have to deal with it. She didn't want to date some loser boy when she wanted Brittany. Brittany was the most beautiful girl she had ever seen, and she wanted to be with her. It didn't matter about some boy.

As she was helping her mother, there was a knock on the door. Santana went to get it. When she pulled the door open, it revealed someone she didn't know. It was a tall boy with a shock of curly hair and he looked to be about 17, 18. Santana said, "Can I help you?" She didn't know who would be knocking on their door this early in the morning on Thanksgiving day. Especially someone they didn't know.

He gave her a wry smile. "I am Jesse St. James, we just moved in next door to you a few days ago. Did you not see us moving in?" He knew they had to have, Lima was a small town and he was sure there had been talking among the citizens.

She nodded. "Yeah, we did. Is there something we can do for you? It's the holiday." She said, trying to ignore the fact that she was wearing an apron. She liked to look good in front of anyone, especially boys. She needed to keep up the pretense that she liked them.

Jesse arched his eyebrow at her. "My mother is working on supper, and she needs to know if she can borrow some flour." He said, still looking at her.

"I guess so. You can come in, tell my mother how much you need, I am sure she can spare some." Santana went with him to the kitchen, still a bit fascinated. She had never seen a boy like this before. He was very confident. Santana definitely knew it was because of guys like him that she was having feelings for a girl. It was curious, though, to see how the other kids in school would get along with him. "So, will you go to McKinley?" She asked, looking at him.

He nodded. "Yes, I'll go to McKinley. I was actually supposed to be graduated, but we moved a lot in the last year and I ended up missing more school than I should have. I am a performer, is there a choir at school?"

Santana nodded, as her mother began measuring out some flour for him to take back to his mother. "Yes, I could take you to it, everyone who's ever auditioned has gotten in. Are you any good?" She asked.

As he took the flour, he gave her a mischievous smile. "I'm the best, you'll see." He told her, as he thanked her mother and then disappeared out the front door again. Santana watched him go, and she was definitely intrigued. She wanted to see more of him, definitely so she could see what he was like. Santana was intrigued by rude boys, even if she didn't want to date them.

Not far from there, Brittany was getting dressed. She knew she was going to see Santana that day, and she wanted to look pretty. She had broken up with Matt Rutherford the night before, and they had managed to stay friends. Brittany didn't want to hurt him, so she was glad. She was sure that Santana felt the same way she did, she just had to get her to admit it. She was pulling out a skirt and a nice top, she wanted to look pretty. They always went over to the Lopezes for Thanksgiving. They always took cranberry sauce. Brittany's mother was already working on it so it would be ready. Brittany usually helped, but she had wanted to think about her strategy for getting Santana to open up. She knew they'd have to hide things, but she didn't care. As long as they could be together she didn't care if it was out in the open or not.

Brittany had been wondering why Santana had seemed to be off lately, she hadn't been talking to her as much and it was concerning her. Brittany knew she hadn't done anything to offend her, so it had to be something else. She wondered if she could get the other girl to talk about it. She knew it would help her feel better about whatever it was. When she was dressed, she went down to help with the cranberry sauce. It was going to be a busy day today. Even if all she had to do was eat.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Santana could not believe how the dinner had gone. She and Brittany were cleaning up, not really saying much to each other while they were. Santana's parents had fought with Brittany's. They'd been arguing about the war going on overseas, and whether or not America should get involved. She didn't know why they had to be arguing about shit like that. It had nothing to do with America, and they didn't need to be getting involved. Santana definitely didn't want to hear talk about it. She knew Brittany didn't, either. They'd both been sitting there, too mortified to speak.

The blonde kept glancing at her, and Santana mostly didn't know what to think about it. She knew it had to mean something, and she wanted to find out what. When they were finished with the dishes, Santana looked at her. She said, "Do you want to go to my room?" She thought maybe they could talk. The parents were now in the living room, getting along like nothing had happened. She didn't get that either, but at least there was no more fighting.

When Brittany nodded, they went up to her room. They sat down on the bed. Santana wasn't sure what to say mostly. She and Brittany looked at each other, and then Brittany finally said, "Santana, I have feelings for you." She didn't know what made her say it, but she was glad she did. Brittany knew there was a chance she was wrong about Santana, but she wasn't worried. She was fairly certain she was right.

That made Santana's heart soar. She hadn't known Brittany felt the same way that she did. Looking at her, and trying to keep tears from forming in her eyes, Santana said, "I have feelings for you, too, Brittany." She wasn't sure what they were going to do now. It was dangerous enough, having the parents awake downstairs, although, Santana definitely knew how to be quiet. They were going to have to hide... it was not going to be a good or easy time for them. She inched closer to Brittany, and took the other girl's hand in hers. She looked at their fingers for a second.

Brittany took her by surprise. She pressed her lips to Santana's softly, and then with more passion. She pressed closer, and their breasts rubbed against each other. Santana sighed against Brittany's mouth, it felt amazing, kissing her. Brittany's hand slid up to the nape of her neck, and it was in her hair. Santana let out a soft groan, trying to keep from giving anyone reason to come up and check on them. Although, she was sure they would have no idea that this was going on, she was pretty sure she and Brittany were good at hiding things.

Before Santana could move to start taking clothes off, Brittany pulled back. She looked into Santana's eyes. "I don't see why we have to rush anything. I know that you like to have sex a lot, and that's fine. I just don't think we should rush into anything. Not to mention, we aren't really sure how sex with another girl works... we know what we like but that doesn't mean we'll have everything figured out right away."

That was most certainly true. Santana sighed and looked at her. Anything Brittany wanted, she got. Santana was just wanting the other girl to be happy, so she would go along with whatever Brittany decided was right. "Okay. I just... can I touch you?" She asked. "I just want to know what your breasts feel like under my hands..." She gave Brittany a pleading look.

Agreeing, Brittany carefully took off her shirt, and her bra. She did it slowly. Santana was aching with need by the time she got it off. Then she lifted Santana's hand, and put it on her left breast. Santana felt herself start to get wet. She cupped it, and ran her thumb along Brittany's nipple. She looked at her. "Can I... touch myself while I'm holding it?" She needed some release. When Brittany nodded again, Santana pulled her skirt up, and leaned back a little, slipping her fingers inside her underwear, and inserted a couple inside herself. Letting out a soft moan, she began to move her fingers fast inside herself. She rubbed Brittany's nipple with her thumb. It didn't take long before she was coming all over her hand. She slid her hand out, and as she did, Brittany grabbed it and licked it clean. She smiled at Santana.

"You taste good." She told her, and then pressed her lips to Santana's, so she could taste herself. Then they heard someone calling for Brittany downstairs, and she got up. "Tomorrow, Mom and Dad are going out, you can come over if you want." She said, and Santana nodded. Then she was kissing her one last time and then bounding down the stairs, leaving Santana satisfied.

Meanwhile, at the Hudson/Hummel house, Kurt and Blaine were sitting out on the back porch, bundled up in coats. Finn and Rachel had gone on a short drive, and her father had gone along and gone home. Kurt was hopeful. Dinner had gone well, he and Blaine had gotten in some conversation. Kurt hadn't found out much that would tell him if Blaine was someone that he could be with, but he was starting to find that he liked him more and more. Kurt knew he was in danger of really falling in love with him. Kurt was going to have to be careful if he didn't want to get hurt.

Blaine was enjoying himself. He really was. He didn't know how he was coming off to Kurt, but he was worried that Kurt was going to be able to tell that he was really having a crush on him. Blaine liked his blue eyes, and he really thought Kurt filled out his clothes well in the bottom department. He just, he knew that what he was feeling was not accepted by everyone else. He thought he had to find some way to get it across to Kurt, or see if he could get Kurt to admit he felt the same. It was hard to feel those kinds of things out. Blaine said, "I am glad that your mother asked us to join you for Thanksgiving." This was certainly true, and he wasn't sure what he would say if Kurt asked why.

Kurt smiled at him. "I am too. It was nice." He looked into Blaine's hazel eyes. They were beautiful. He could get lost in them easily. They were the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen in his life. Kurt wondered how he could ask what he wanted without tipping Blaine off. He looked at him. "So, do you have plans for tomorrow? Or the rest of the weekend before school resumes?" He asked.

Shaking his head, Blaine looked at him. "What did you have in mind?" He asked, his heart pounding as he waited to hear the answer. He wasn't sure what he wanted it to be.

"I was just thinking, we could go bowling tomorrow evening. And get something at the diner." Kurt was thinking it was a good way to get to be friends with him, then he could start feeling him out about asking him if he had feelings for him.

Nodding, Blaine said, "We can do that. Meet you there?" He asked.

"Sure. That sounds reasonable." Kurt agreed. He was excited. His first unofficial date with Blaine.

Will spent a lonely Thanksgiving by himself. He had had invitations to join his parents, but Will hadn't wanted to endure talk from the rest of the family about his divorce. Will was tired of hearing people talking about him. He knew they were. Not that he blamed them. It was the first big thing to really cause a scandal in Lima in awhile. What surprised him was at the end of the day, when there was a knock on his door. He went to get it. When he pulled the door open wide, it was Emma. "Hello, Ms. Pillsbury." He said.

Emma smiled at him. "Can... can I come in?" She asked. She wanted to talk him. She was finally deciding that maybe she should tell him how she felt about him. She didn't want him to get interested in someone else before he knew how she felt.

Nodding, Will stepped back so she could come inside. He closed the door behind her. "How come you aren't with your family, Ms. Pillsbury?" He had been told he could call her Emma before, but he never had, out of respect.

She clasped her hands in front of her. She looked very nice, she was wearing a beautiful and flowing green dress. Will thought she looked nice in green, redheads always did. "I was earlier, but there was something I wanted to say to you." She said, looking at him shyly.

"You can say whatever you want to me." He told her. Will was wondering if it was important. He was also wondering if she was going to reveal that she liked him. Will had been nervous around her since he met her, he thought she was beautiful and he didn't know what he could do to deserve someone as beautiful as she was.

"We've known each other for some time now, Will, and I just want to tell you that... that I think you are very handsome. I have had feelings for you since I met you, but I didn't want to cause problems with you in your marriage, so I waited to speak up." Emma didn't know how she had gotten that all out without crying. Or having to stop from nervousness.

Will looked at her. He didn't know what to say. He had been waiting for her to say that to him. Even if he was the one who should have said that he liked her. It was the man's job. He took her hands in his. "I do like you, Emma. You are very beautiful and I think I loved you from the moment I saw you." He pressed his lips to hers, kissing her softly. He didn't want to get anyone wagging tongues about them. It must be the holidays, making everyone be truthful.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Finn was listening to the news in shock. His stepfather had turned it on when he'd come home from the shop. It was telling them that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor. Finn looked at Burt. "Does this mean that the US is entering the war?" He really wanted them to be, he wanted to go into the war. Finn wanted to make his dead father proud, and he knew that if he fought for his country he had a good chance.

Burt looked at him. "I imagine so... were you thinking about joining up?" He asked. He thought that Finn was a good boy, but he didn't think Finn should join the army. He had a good idea, but after Carole had lost her husband, even if it hadn't been in a war, he didn't think Finn needed to add to his mother's worry. But he understood why Finn wanted to.

This Finn wasn't sure how to answer. He definitely did, but he knew Carole wouldn't want him to. Kurt and Carole shared glances. Finn noticed. "I... I'm not sure yet." He hedged, hoping this would satisfy Burt and his mother.

While they were pondering this, the phone rang. Finn jumped up to get it. "Hello?" He asked, It was Puck. "Hey, Puck." Finn said, as he leaned against the wall to talk to his best friend. He was sure his buddy had heard the news. He wondered if Puck would be joining up.

Puck nodded. He was sitting on his kitchen counter. His dad had taken off when he was younger, so it was just him and his ma, and his sister Sarah. She was nine. Puck nodded again, despite that Finn couldn't see him. "Yes, I heard the news. I want to join up. I don't know if Ma'll be happy about it, but they're going to need guys who really want to join."

"I know, I really want to join up too." Finn said, lowering his voice, so his family wouldn't hear him. Kurt was coming into the kitchen to get a soda, so he had to keep quiet. "I don't know if I will yet."

Kurt did his best to listen as his brother was talking. He didn't know if Finn was serious, but he hoped he wasn't. Kurt didn't want to take the chance of losing him. Kurt knew if Finn went off, he'd end up getting killed or something and he didn't want to take that chance. He was taking his time getting his soda so he could see what Finn was saying to Puck. From the sound of it, he wanted to join up. "Hurry up, Finn, I want to call Blaine, okay?"

"Yeah, I will..." Finn told him, and watched as Kurt headed back out to the living room. When Kurt was gone, Finn said, "Let's go to the office after school tomorrow. I bet someone will be able to tell us if we can join up." He said, and then added, "I gotta go, Kurt wants to call his new friend Blaine. I'll call you in the morning before school. You want me and Rachel to pick you and Quinn up?"

This Puck considered for a minute. "Oh... what am I going to tell her? We just got back on the right track, I don't want to mess anything up." He said, considering this. "She's back into the relationship big time. I don't know what to do." Puck didn't want to mess anything up with her, not after they'd had their fights. Now she was recommitted, and he didn't want to do anything to get her to change her mind about him again.

"I don't know, but we can talk about it tomorrow, I gotta go so Kurt can call Blaine." Finn said, and then they said their goodbyes. He went into the living room, where he found Rachel had shown up. He smiled at her as he joined her on the couch. "What are you doing here?" He asked her, as Kurt got up to go into the kitchen to call Blaine.

"I just wanted to talk to you, I was sure you had heard the news, and Daddy said I could walk over." She told him, as she sat primly on the couch. She put her hand in his, though, and she turned her brown eyes on him. "Did you decide what you're going to do? Mr. Hummel said you want to maybe join the army?" She asked, her heart pounding. Rachel knew this was a possibility, Finn had told her that it could happen.

Finn looked into her eyes. "I... I don't know." He knew she was probably remembering the talk they'd had. Finn didn't know what to tell her. He knew he wanted to join up, and he knew that she wasn't going to like that. Finn just didn't know what to do. He wanted to make his father proud. He knew that Burt would be proud no matter what he did. Finn wanted to make everyone proud of him. Finn didn't want to be just another big man on campus. He wanted to make a name for himself, be remembered for something cool. He just didn't know if the army was going to be it. He could die. Finn just didn't know.

Kurt was in the kitchen, dialing Blaine's number. He wanted a private phone line so much, but Burt hadn't been willing to let him have one just yet. Kurt would do his best to get one, he was thinking about seeing if he could get an after school job, so he could have one. It didn't take long for someone to answer. "Hello? Is Blaine there?" He asked. He wanted to make sure Blaine wasn't joining up too. He didn't want to lose him. He was so adorable.

It was Blaine. "It's me. Hi, Kurt." He said, he recognized Kurt's voice. He had been hoping Kurt would call. He wanted to talk to him. He wasn't really in any of Kurt's classes, so it was hard to get to talk to him during the day. He was so excited that Kurt had called him now. "What's your reason for calling?" He asked. He wanted to know if something was wrong. He had just been listening to the news, so he knew that Pearl Harbor had been attacked. Blaine hoped Kurt was going to stay here. He didn't want to lose him. Blaine was staying here. He supposed if they had a draft they could be in trouble, but for now he was going to stay here.

"I just wanted to know if you had heard the news... you aren't joining up, are you? Because I would be very worried... I don't want to lose you. It's bad enough that my brother's probably going to join up." Kurt said, he was sitting on the end of the kitchen counter. Carole came in to start supper.

Blaine couldn't help but smile to himself. His mother was cooking supper too. "I... I am not going to join up. You aren't either... are you?" He asked, hoping the answer was no. He didn't want to lose Kurt in any capacity. He loved him already. He was afraid to mention it to him, but he did. He was really worried that Kurt didn't feel the same way, and he had been thinking about how to bring it up without giving everything away. It was really hard.

"No, I'm not. Finn wants to... and it's making me nervous, what if something happens to him? I couldn't take it." Kurt loved his brother and didn't want anything to happen to him. And what about Carole? She had already gone through losing her husband, and it wasn't in the war but it had been tragic enough. Finn shouldn't be putting himself in danger like that.

Blaine wasn't sure what to say to that. He didn't want to make Kurt feel any worse. Blaine said, "I am sute that if he does go he'll be just fine. Everyone will pray for him and God will make sure to bring him home safely." Blaine definitely didn't want anything to happen to Finn, he knew that Kurt wouldn't be able to handle it. Blaine thought that everyone's lives were about to be torn upside down. He was so nervous. He wanted to know if Kurt was into him, hejust didn't know if right now was the right time to bring it up. Blaine was sure it probably wasn't.

Kurt was going to say more when Carole asked him if he would help with supper. "I have to go, I'll talk to you tomorrow at school, okay?" After Blaine had agreed, Kurt hung up the phone. He looked at his stepmother. "What do you need help with?" He asked her, rolling up his sleeves so he could help.

Carole had mostly just wanted him to stop talking about Finn possibly joining the war. Carole didn't even want to think about the possibilty of losing her son. She'd already lost his father. She didn't want to even entertain losing her son. He was so young, he wasn't even eighteen yet. Carole knew that wouldn't matter, she was sure that there was going to be a draft. She just hoped that Kurt wouldn't go, she was sure that Finn would go if he got the chance. She said, "You can peel potatoes." She pointed to the ones she had sitting on the counter.

Meanwhile, Puck was in his own kitchen. His mother was working, so he was fixing supper. He had had to learn, unless he and Sarah wanted to starve. He was keeping it simple, fried chicken and potatoes. He had already made the potatoes, so they just needed warmed up. He was working on the chicken. It was already in the pan. Quinn was coming over, so she would be joining them. Puck had never had her over for supper on a night he cooked, so it was going to be interesting. He thought it was a test of how much she loved him. He had no idea what had made her flip out about their relationship, but he was too glad that they were back together to worry about it too much. It also puzzled him because he wasn't sure why Santana had been trying to get him back. It had been so long since he and Santana had had their thing. He didn't want Santana back. They were friends now and that was how he wanted it. Puck knew Santana had to be hiding something.

While he was cooking, Quinn came in. Sarah must have let her in. "Hi, babe." He told her, and gave her a kiss. She had already taken off her coat and hung it in the hall closet. She was looking at him, long waves of blonde hair hanging to her shoulders. Puck said, "Supper's almost ready." He was still trying to decide how he was going to tell her that he was planning on joining up with the army. He didn't think she would like it.

Quinn asked, "Can I help at all?" She didn't mind helping him, and she hoped that they could discuss what had happened in Pearl Harbor. Quinn was sure that Puck was going to join up, and she didn't want that. She was finally starting to get over Rachel, and she was glad to be with Puck. Quinn rolled up her sleeves, in anticipation to help if he needed it.

He shook his head. "No, only if you want to set the table." Puck flipped the chicken. He was glad she had come over, they hadn't gotten to spend a lot of time together lately. "I'm glad you came over, we'd have too many leftovers." He said, as he watched her get out the dishes to set the table.

Quinn wondered why he was a little awkward. He seemed off. Quinn finished setting the table and turned to look at him. She didn't know what he was going to say but she did fear he wanted to join the army. "Puck, why are you acting so weird? What do you have to say?" She asked.

Here it comes. Puck took a deep breath and looked at her. "I... I have plans to join the army now that we have been attacked." He knew she wasn't going to be happy about it. Puck folded his strong arms while he waited for her to say something about it. He knew that she was going to have a lot to say, especially since they had just ironed things out between them.

Quinn whirled around to look at him. Puck sighed. She shook her head. "No, you don't get to sigh at me. You are talking about putting yourself in danger! And we just got back together, Puck! And what about your sister? Who's going to watch her while you're overseas, getting shot at? Have you thought about this at all?" She asked.

"Of course I have, I want to be a better man than my father! My father was a deadbeat and I just want to make any kids I have in the future proud of me! You have to understand, Quinn!"

Quinn looked at him. "I _do_ understand! You want me to be alone the rest of my life! What have we been doing together?" She asked, and then stormed out of the house. How could he be doing this to her? She just wanted things to be uncomplicated, and now, that's all they were. Would she ever get to be happy?


End file.
